


Will Ye Go, Laddie, Go?

by FunkyWashingMachine



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Animal Transformation, Cute, Dragons, Fae & Fairies, Fairy Tale Elements, Friendship, Gen, High Fantasy, Humor, Magic, Music, Shapeshifting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-03-28 11:50:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 13,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13903407
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FunkyWashingMachine/pseuds/FunkyWashingMachine
Summary: Taking a stab at Radioactivesupersonic's fantasy AU from TumblrLotor's a fairy stuck hanging around Lance and there are Shenanigans





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ClockworkRainbow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ClockworkRainbow/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [woo I learned how to do links like this](http://radioactivesupersonic.tumblr.com/post/171040785225/voltron-au-idea-i-probably-wont-write-and-so-am)

            He really should have seen that trap.  But he’d been distracted.  It was hard to remember sometimes that humans could be just as dangerous as wizards if you let them.

            His foot was lodged and bleeding.

            He had already diagnosed the problem and the solution, but unfortunately the solution would require a form he couldn’t take at the moment. 

            He never did like humans in the first place.

            For now, the only thing to do was wait.  The first few escape attempts had only dug the skewers further into his leg.  It was such a simple trap, a small pit in the ground edged with sticks.  Funny how simple things could be so dangerous.

            How becoming of him.  How expected.

            Something rustled the nearby branches.  Lotor couldn’t stop himself from trying to leap out of his spot again.  He really wished he hadn’t, though.

            The thing that came from the bushes was a human.  One of the two things he didn’t want to see right now.  Three if he counted wild animals.

            His eyes darted over the human’s gear.  There would be a hunting knife somewhere.  A knife and a dog and a rope to drag him away.

            The human stared.  Lotor wanted to spit at him.

            “Whoa…” the human breathed.  “Never seen a WHITE one before.”

            Of course, and if things had been going decently at all, he never would have.

            The human knelt down next to him.

            “Who would have tried to hurt such a pretty thing?”

            If Lotor were in human form, he’d have laughed.  Who DIDN’T want to hurt such a ‘pretty thing?’

            “Shhh, it’s okay,” the boy said.  “I’m not gonna hurt you.”

            Shh.  As if he’d been making noise.  Humans were stupid that way.

            Lotor swung a hoof at the boy’s head as he tried to touch him.

            The boy put his hands up.

            “Okay, okay, I know.  You’re scared.”

            How intelligent.

            He still didn’t see a hunting knife or a dog.  The only thing he saw was a mandolin.

            The boy took it off his back and strummed a chord.

            “What do YOU like?  You look like a… love song type.”

            Well.  There was human idiocy for you.

            The boy played a couple more chords.  If Lotor were in a better place, he wouldn’t have denied how nice they sounded, but he wasn’t in a better place and he DID deny it.

            When the boy started singing, Lotor knew something was wrong.  He had felt that kind of energy before.  It was magic.

            “ _Oh, the summer time is coming… and the leaves are sweetly blooming…_ ”

            It was a spell that worked like a drug.  The kind that altered one’s mental state against their will.

            He kicked in protest before starting to feel tired.

            Impressive magic for a human.

            His hold on reality was faltering.  He couldn’t feel the pain as strongly, even though he knew it was still there.  He didn’t feel as afraid, even though he knew he had reason to.

            A blank mind could be convinced of a lot of things.

            “ _Will ye go, lassie, go?_ ” the boy sang.  Then suddenly he stopped playing.  Lotor hated himself for missing it.

            “I suppose you’re more of a laddie, aren’t you?” the boy said, nodding at an antler.  He picked back up again.  “ _Will ye go, laddie, go?_ ”

            Yes, he would go.  That was how this sort of spell worked.

            And worst of all, he didn’t mind.

            He didn’t move as the song ended and the boy started to pull the sticks from his leg.  He didn’t want to anymore.  For just that moment, he didn’t want anything.

            “There, that’s all done,” the boy said.  Even with his eyes shut, Lotor could hear the grimace in his voice.  “That looks pretty nasty.”

            No doubt it did.  It was starting to hurt again.

            “Sorry, friend, but I don’t have anything to put on it.”

            He was not this boy’s friend.

            But he was going to follow him.  And until he had a chance to explain himself, a friend was what he would look like.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Radioactivesupersonic's tumblr blog is my main source of inspiration/characterization. It's awesome and you should check it out


	2. Chapter 2

            Predictably, the human reacted poorly to his transformation.

            “You’re… you’re…?” he pointed.

            “Yes,” Lotor said, brushing off his sleeve.  “That’s correct.”

            “What… but… that’s…”

            “If you can possibly stop talking, I would appreciate it.”

            The human did not stop talking.

            “Like, actually?  A fairy?  For real?”

            It seemed no amount of agreeing was going to shut the human up so Lotor stopped engaging.

            “You know, I was actually looking forward to telling everyone about my new pet deer,” the human chortled.

            “Yes, and I would prefer that you not do that.”

            “So why are you only in human form NOW?  Why didn’t you tell me about this like, six hours ago?”

            “I don’t have to explain myself to you.”

            “Can you at least explain why you’ve been following me around?”

            Lotor sneered and crossed his arms.

            “Well you see, I have a slight debt to repay now.  And the sooner _that’s_ done, the sooner I can get on with the rest of my life.”

            The human sat with that thought for a moment.

            “Magic fairy stuff, huh?”

            “Unfortunately.  And I would appreciate you keeping quiet about this… partnership.”

            “Hey, look, it was nothing, you don’t have to do anything for me.”

            “And if it weren’t for the ancient rules of magic, I would let you have your way.”

            “So, what exactly are you going to do to repay this debt?”

            “If you have any ideas, say them now.”

            “Well, I don’t.”

            “Then I suppose I’m going to be here a bit longer than I might have hoped.”

            “Wow.  This is a weird way to start a friendship.”

            “It’s not going to be one.”

            “Well, I at least want to know your name.”

            “I don’t have to tell you that.”

            “Not even if it would erase your debt to me?”

            Lotor scoffed.

            “It wouldn’t.”

            And even if it did, there were safer ways to repay it.

            “Well, I guess you’re just gonna keep being ‘laddie,’ then.”

            “Fine.”

            Whatever it took to keep him from asking questions.

            “I’m Lance,” the human said.

            “Congratulations.”

            Lance gestured down.

            “So, how’s your foot?”

            “It’s fine.”

            He couldn’t put weight on it.

            The human began to rummage through a satchel.

            “I don’t have a lot on me right now,” he said.  “I do know a guy, though.”

            “That’s quite all right.”

            “Here,” Lance ignored him, handing him a small vial.  “It’s a painkiller.”

            Lotor drew back.

            “I don’t need any more debts, thank you.”

            Lance gave him a look.

            “Even *I* know that’s not how fairy debt works,” he said.  “Here, look, it’s safe.”

            He took a small swig of the potion.

            Lotor sighed and accepted the vial.

            If he wasn’t in so much pain…

            It tasted like a skunk that had been burned only halfway to death before finishing itself off by drowning in a bucket of strawberry puree.

            Lance chuckled.

            “Didn’t your mother ever tell you your face could get stuck that way?”

            “Well maybe it’s the way I want it to be.”

            “Whatever you say, laddie,” the human laughed.

            This was going to be an insufferable partnership.

            “Well, look,” Lance said.  “It’s late right now, but if you’re going to be hanging around me for a while, I don’t want you to be in pain the whole time.  I’ll take you to see my friend tomorrow, he’ll fix you up like nothing.”

            “If you insist.”

            “But…” Lance seemed to be thinking aloud.  “I don’t want you walking on that foot all day.  Can you shapeshift into anything besides a deer?”


	3. Chapter 3

            It was nothing short of degrading, but Lance promised him he made an adorable “bunny-rabbit.”

            This human friend of his, one “Hunk, seriously the actual greatest alchemist in the whole entire world,” lived across the town.

            They could not get there soon enough.

            “You doing all right there, laddie?” Lance asked Lotor as he carried him.

            As though he could respond in this form.

            “Everyone’s gonna be so jealous,” Lance crooned as they walked on.  “They’ve never seen such a pretty bunny before.  It’s almost as good as making them jealous of my own pet deer!  So how do you like the view?  I suppose you’re usually taller than this anyway but it must be fun to ride up there when you’re so small… I wish I were still small enough to get picked up like this, but there just comes a point where you’re gonna give your mother a hernia if you try… not that I’ve tried recently, or that I gave her a hernia, but there’s really something nice about people picking you up when you’re small.  You ever wish you were still a kid?  I do, all the time, but it’s nice to be able to reach high shelves and stuff like that.  My older brother always used to put my stuff on a high shelf when he was mad at me, and the greatest day of my life was when I finally got tall enough to reach it.  Ever since then he’s stopped picking on me because he doesn’t have anything to hold against me anymore.  And now that he has his own kid, I always get him the things he’s not supposed to have off the high shelves.  My brother hates it, but what’s he gonna do?”

            Lotor’s foot hurt more every time he got jostled, but it wasn’t the worst thing happening to him right now.

            They finally reached the main streets of the town.

            “Good morning, Lance,” called one of the passersby.

            “Hello, hello!” Lance nodded.  Almost emphatically enough to squish Lotor’s foot again.

            And then he began to sing on the way down the road.

            “ _John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt… his name is my name tooooo…”_

            A few surrounding people began snapping to the rhythm.

            “ _Whenever we go out, the people always shout–_ ”

            Lotor bit him.

            “Ow!  Oh, I guess bunny doesn’t like this song, huh?”

            Bunny did not indeed.

            “He’s holding a bunny!” a small child pointed at them.

            “I am!” Lance said, bending down to her.  “Do you want to pet the bunny?”

            Lotor seethed.

            His ears flicked involuntarily as the little girl touched them.

            “He’s so SOFT!”

            “I knowww,” Lance cooed.  “Softest bunny this side of Taujeer!”

            A couple more people crowded around to touch him.  He buried his face as far as he could in Lance’s elbow.

            “I have a cousin who breeds rabbits,” someone said.  “She would pay you at LEAST a silver gac to stud this one out.”

            “Uh, well,” Lance said.  “Bunny hurt his foot and isn’t feeling so good right now, but, uh, catch me when he’s better and we’ll talk.”

            No.

            No.

            No.

            NO.

            “I guess bunny’s feeling a little shy today,” Lance said as Lotor almost instinctively tried to jump away.  “Don’t worry, laddie, we’ll be there soon.”

            The crowd took much longer to dissipate than Lotor would have liked, but he would settle for it, anyway.

            “Told you you’d be the hit of the town!” Lance said to him.  “So many adoring fans, you gotta tell me your secret.”

            For one, rabbits did not talk.

            Apparently the house of the “actual greatest alchemist in the whole entire world” was well past the center of town, in a fallow and frankly ugly place.

            “There, that didn’t us long at all, now did it?” Lance said.

            Apparently they had different ideas on what constituted a long time.

            Lance tucked him into the crook of one arm to knock on the door.

            “Hunkie boy, open up!”

            The response was slow to come.

            “Don’t you worry, laddie, he’s probably just making sure whatever he’s working on isn’t about to catch fire.  He wouldn’t leave his best buddy at the door.  Or a cute little bunny like you.”

            There were several reasons Lotor never opted for this form.

            Finally the door opened.  The actually-greatest-alchemist was a human about Lance’s age, dressed more like a peasant than a magician.  He looked strong enough to snap Lance in half if he wanted to, but tragically, Lotor doubted that was a remote possibility.

            “Hunk!” Lance greeted him.  “I found this bunny and his foot’s hurt!  You have anything for him?”

            “Oh no, not a bunny!” said the other human.  “Bring him in, I’ll fix him.”

            It always felt strange to enter a human dwelling.

            “Where’d you find him?” this “Hunk” human asked.

            “Uh, you know.  In a bunny trap.”

            “Let me see, let me see.”

            Lotor ground his teeth as Lance pulled out his foot.

            “Wow,” the other human said.  “What the heck kind of trap was THAT?”

            “Well, a normal one.  He probably got like… bitten by a turtle while he was in it.”

            “A turtle?”

            “Tortoise, whatever.  Do you have anything for him?”

            Hunk began to pull a couple containers off the shelf.

            “Yes, but it might be too strong for such a little bunny.”

            “I’m sure he can take it, he’s a strong little guy.”

            “Yeah, I can tell,” Hunk smiled, sweeping in and rubbing a knuckle over Lotor’s forehead.  “He’s put up with you for HOW long now?”

            “Hey!  I’ll have you know that I make GREAT company for a bunny-rabbit,” Lance protested.

            “Yeah, of course you do,” Hunk laughed.  “Okay, I’m gonna dilute this to one-tenth for him.”

            “Uh, you probably don’t need to do that,” Lance hemmed.  “He’s like… a bit of an extra-strength bunny.”

            “What the heck does THAT mean?”

            “Oh, nothing.  Just means he has… crazy-high rabbit metabolism.”

            Hunk stared, then sighed.

            “Lance, I am not about to overmedicate your stolen rabbit.”

            “I didn’t steal him!”

            “Well he’s clearly not a wild bunny, and somebody probably wants him back.”

            “Uh… finders keepers?”

            Hunk scoffed.

            “Well, if someone comes after you for him, don’t say I didn’t warn you.  We’ll start with a small dose and see if that’s enough.”

            How could such a sensible human be friends with Lance?

            “You got a hold on him?” Hunk asked, bottle in hand.

            “Yeah, he’s not going anywhere.”

            “Great.  Gimme that foot.”

            Foot-contact was not something Lotor enjoyed on a regular day.  Foot-contact while injured and in rabbit form was worse.

            “I know bun, it sucks,” Lance tsked, holding him tighter.

            “I’m actually surprised he’s so well-behaved,” Hunk said, daubing something on the wound.

            “Yeah, he’s a good little bun.”

            “So, you’re just gonna keep him?  Do you even have, like, a rabbit hutch?”

            “Eh, I’ll wing it.”

            Hunk was preparing a bandage now.

            “It’s probably gonna make him sleepy,” he said.  “It’s not so much a healing potion as one that rechannels the body’s energy into recovery.”

            “Oh yeah?  That’s pretty cool.”

            “Thanks!  It’s my own recipe,” Hunk beamed.

            Lotor rather wished he’d known that before they came here.

            “Anything that settles him down,” Lance snorted.  “He bites.”

            “Well, make sure he doesn’t nibble on the dressing.”

            Appetizing as it may look.

            “Yeah, got it,” Lance said as Hunk secured the bandage.

            Lotor hoped Lance would ask how long it had to stay on.  The less time he had to spend as a rabbit, the better.

            “There, bun, good as new,” Hunk said to him, petting his head.  He smelled like earth and flour and just a hint of unicorn sweat.

            He was gentle for such a large human.  Gentler than Lance, and far less annoying.

            Lotor started feeling tired right away.  And cold, too, except for his foot.  It was so warm it nearly burned.

            “Aww, poor little sleepy bunny.”

            Strange how humans could be so destructive and yet so keen on mending broken rabbits.

            He was only partially aware of Lance holding him in his lap and petting him.  It felt condescending but, if he were honest, also fairly calming.  It really had been a while since he’d slept somewhere warm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pat the bunny


	4. Chapter 4

            He woke up in the mouth of a dog.

            He’d forgotten that rabbits could scream.

            All he could see were the shaggy brown paws running beneath him, the dusty bare ground going by.

            There was never a good day to be a rabbit.

            “Mister Ugly!  Come back with him!!”

            The humans were chasing after the dog.

            Well.  If they saved him, he couldn’t be in any more debt than he already was.

            There was a gate by the fields, and they’d cornered the dog there.

            “Hey look, Mister Ugly, I’ve got a nice treat here,” said the alchemist.  “Just put down the bunny…”

            The dog dropped Lotor and trapped him under its paws.

            “Nice try, but I’m not falling for that,” it said.

            The humans gawked like the idiots they were.  Though Lotor had to admit he was a bit surprised by this one too.

            “Uhhhh… what?”

            “This isn’t just a rabbit,” the dog spat.  “It’s Prince Lotor in disguise.”

            “‘Prince?’”

            “Whyyyyyyy are you talking, Mister Ugly?” Hunk whined.

            “Because you give the best scraps in all of Creekshire and I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

            “Um.  Well, thanks?”

            “What was that about ‘Prince?’” Lance asked.

            The dog crouched closer over Lotor.  A rabbit was a fragile creature; the heat and the weight were crushing.

            “No doubt about it.  Everyone knows Prince Lotor can’t shake that eye color.”

            “They do?” Lance said.  “I didn’t know that.  I didn’t even know he was a prince.”

            Why did he have to have a contract with such an idiot?

            “Well he’s a pretty pitiful one, to be sure,” said Mister Ugly.  “Dokka.”

            “I got a DOKKA fairy?”

            And Lotor got the dumbest human of all.

            “He’s dangerous,” the dog growled.  “What are you doing with him?”

            “I don’t know, Lance, what ARE we doing with him?” Hunk said.

            “We… are not doing anything with him… except treating his foot.”

            “He has a blood debt to one of you, doesn’t he?” the dog said.

            “DOES he?” Hunk looked at Lance.

            “Guys… he’s really just a rabbit…”

            “Well, let’s see,” Hunk said.

            He produced a small paper envelope, ripped it open, and blew some kind of dust over Lotor and the dog.

            Perhaps Hunk really was the Actual Greatest Alchemist in the Whole Entire World.

            He could feel the bending of his bones, the lightheadedness that came from a sudden transformation.

            It hurt to be forced out of one.

            The boy who had just been Mister Ugly looked like he was in pain, too.

            “That.  Is definitely not a rabbit,” Hunk said.

            “I TOLD you that already!” Mister Ugly pouted, apparently having regained composure a lot faster than Lotor.

            “SINCE WHEN IS MISTER UGLY NOT A DOG?” Lance gaped.

            The boy scoffed.

            “Well you wouldn’t have thrown scraps if I’d come looking like THIS, would you?”

            “No, and I’m kind of feeling weird about all those tummy rubs now,” Hunk said.

            It made the boy laugh.

            “Humans.”

            “Okay, okay,” Lance sighed.  “Are any of the other strays around here fairies too?  Because I’m getting slightly concerned about… things I might have done around them.”

            “Yeah, I’ve seen.”

            It was a different voice.  A different fairy.

            A girl that was nearly the spitting image of this Mister Ugly character.  She looked Ljosa, like the boy.

            “You should always be careful what you do when you think no one’s watching,” she smirked.

            Common knowledge.  Of course, fairies were a lot smarter than humans.

            “So,” she turned to Lotor as she helped the other boy off the ground.  “My brother was right, wasn’t he?  You’re in debt to a human.”

            He really hated that smug look on her face.

            “It’s a possibility,” he said.

            “Lance… do you have something to tell me?” Hunk said.

            Lance threw his hands up.

            “Look, I didn’t want to make this a big deal, okay?  But none of you guys are helping!  In fact this is REALLY WEIRD!”

            “Not helping, huh?” the fairy boy crossed his arms.  “With a trickster like HIM?  You’ll be glad we showed up.”

            Lotor’s joints were starting to hurt less.  He forced himself to stand up.

            It was gratifying, being taller than Mister Ugly.

            “Yes, I’m sure he’ll appreciate that,” he said down at him.

            “And YOU better do your job right, or you’ll regret it,” the boy snarled.

            It was like he’d forgotten he wasn’t a dog anymore.

            “Are you trying to intimidate me?”

            As if he hadn’t been intimidated by the whole dog situation.  But if he let him know it would only get worse.

            “I’m telling you what’s what before you get any funny ideas.”

            “I’m afraid I don’t see the humor in any of my current developments.”

            Except irritating the dog boy with that tone of voice.

            “So, were you lying about having a treat?” the fairy girl asked Hunk.

            “Oh.  Yeah, I was, sorry.”

            “Well, do you have anything on the stove right now?  Cuz your duck stew is the BEST.”

            “Uh… is that why it always goes missing?”

            The girl clapped a hand over her mouth.  There was a small flower starting to bud off her knuckle.

            Definitely Ljosa.

            “How long have you guys been sneaking around here, anyway?” Lance asked.

            “You’re more concerned about that than the Dokka prince?” the fairy boy gestured.

            It was refreshing, actually.

            “Well, he hasn’t bothered me yet…”

            “Hmph,” Mister Ugly glared.  “What exactly IS your plan, Prince Lotor?”

            He wasn’t about to tell him.

            “He’s just gonna hang around until the debt is settled, then he’s gonna be on his way,” Lance said.  “Right, laddie?”

            Did Lance not remember the part about keeping this quiet?

            “Yes.”

            “Well if THAT’S the case,” the fairy girl began, “He’d better know that we’re gonna be keeping an eye on him.”

            Lovely.  Add them to the list.

            He’d have made some snide remark if his bones hadn’t started tremoring just then.

            It was the magic, it was wearing off.

            Being forced back into a transformation wasn’t painless, either.

            And of all the ones he could have been forced back into.

            “Well,” Lance said, looking down at him.  “I guess you like being a bunny more than you care to admit.”


	5. Chapter 5

            “MORE animals, Lance?” Lance’s mother said at the door.

            “Uh… yes.  But I promise they’re well-behaved.  And they don’t have fleas.”

            She sighed.

            “I don’t know where you’re finding all these.”

            “Hard to say, they just kinda… start following me,” Lance shrugged.

            Or apparently get abducted, seeing as Lotor wasn’t exactly following him on foot.

            “Lance… you know we don’t have space for all of them.”

            “Mom, I promise, they’ll be really low-maintenance!  And I won’t let them bother anyone!”

            Lance’s mother didn’t look particularly convinced.

            If only they’d all decided to be goldfish.

            From over Lance’s arm Lotor could see Mister Ugly plodding up to Lance’s mother and pressing his face into her hand.  With a well-timed pitiful dog whine.

            Lotor suspected that pleading dog expression had been finely rehearsed and used on Lance as well.

            “I suppose… he IS a pretty friendly dog,” Lance’s mother said, tentatively petting Mister Ugly’s head.

            “And he’s SO hungry, Mom!  We can’t leave him outside!”

            Even without having seen much of this woman, Lotor knew she was going to crack.

            “Okay, okay… but if they start causing trouble, they’re OUT.”

            Lance beamed and hopped over to kiss his mother.

            “Thanks, Mom… you know I love you.”

            She sighed again.

            “YOU know I let you get away with too much.”

            “Yeah, I do.”

            The door opened and they went inside.

 

 

            Lance put Lotor down on a pillow as the dog and the cat followed in.

            “All right, guys, hope you’re cozy in here.”

            “You know I COULD be a smaller dog if you need me to,” Mister Ugly said, looking around.

            “Well, Mom already saw you so it’s a bit too late for that,” Lance said.

            The fairy girl jumped onto the bed and changed back.

            “And, for the record, my name is not ‘Kitty,’” she said.

            Lotor really didn’t like her towering over him.

            “Oh come on, I thought that was clever.”

            “Yeah, well, it’s ‘Pidge’ to you.”

            Definitely a pseudonym.  No fairy would give out her real name so readily.

            “Kay, what about YOU then?” Lance asked the dog.

            “You should just keep calling him Mister Ugly,” the fairy girl snickered.

            Lotor actually agreed with her.  But unfortunately Mister Ugly wanted to be called “Matt.”

            Even less fortunately, he hopped up onto the bed with them.

            “What’s this mattress even stuffed with?” Mister Ugly circled around on it before lying down.  “I hope you don’t mind sharing.”

            “Are you kidding?” Lance grinned.  “I’ve always wanted a dog!”

            “What, you don’t like cats?” Pidge folded her arms.

            “Hey, I’m not playing favorites here but we all know that the BUNNY is the cutest one of all.”

            Lance patronizingly ruffled Lotor’s fur.  Lotor glared.

            “Well he’d never be cute OTHERWISE,” Pidge smirked at him.

            It wasn’t the worst insult he’d ever been given.

            “You know, that’s not true, he was a deer when I found him and he wasn’t ugly THEN,” Lance said.

            “Hmm.  Who the heck are YOU hiding from?” Mister Ugly pushed his snout into Lotor’s personal space.

            Just his luck that he didn’t only have to deal with humans, but two Ljosa fairs that wouldn’t leave him alone.  They didn’t seem particularly powerful but they made him uncomfortable anyway.

            If he had to guess, he’d say the girl was the more powerful of the two, but considerably less refined than her brother.  A practiced magic user wouldn’t lose control of her powers and start sprouting flowers off her knuckles.  But it also wouldn’t happen to anyone without fairly decent raw talent.

            As for Mister Ugly, Lotor had no way of gauging his full strength.  The only comfort he took was that if Mister Ugly was abnormally powerful, he’d have HEARD of him.  But he’d never heard of a fairy who could speak in the form of a dog.  And that didn’t come from raw power alone – if it did, HE could have done it.  More likely, it came from years of experimentation and practice.

            Just what he needed.  Stalkers who could do the impossible.

            He’d be careful around both of them, but for now he would be more afraid of Mister Ugly.  A little magic used resourcefully could be more deadly than stronger stuff poorly wielded.

            He wondered what deductions they’d been making about HIM in the meantime.

            “So, you live with your mom?” Mister Ugly asked Lance.

            “Um.  Yes.  Why is that a weird thing?”

            “It’s not, maybe it just explains a few things,” Pidge grinned.

            “What’s THAT supposed to mean?”

            “Oh, nothing.”

            “Hey, I didn’t ask you to judge me, okay?”

            Of course not.  That was Lotor’s territory.

            “We’re not.  She just seems nice, is all,” Mister Ugly scratched his ear.

            “No, that’s a lie, we’re judging you,” Pidge elbowed the dog.

            “Is she a good cook?” Mister Ugly asked Lance.

            “Well yeah, but Hunk’s already spoiled you guys, I’m not sure anyone can compete with THAT.”

            “Are YOU a good cook, then?” the fairy girl asked.

            “Uh… no.”

            Lance didn’t look like he was good at ANYTHING.  Except for music.  But nothing that Lotor actually RESPECTED.

            “Is your mom the one who made this quilt?” said the dog.

            “Nah, that’s from my grandmother.  Though it used to be my mom’s when SHE was a little girl.”

            “Well I gotta say your grandmother’s taste in colors is NOT that great,” Pidge said.

            “Oh shush, Pidge, it’s fine,” said the dog.

            Was this really the sort of things these fairies thought about?

            Lotor began to dislike them a little more.

            “What about you, laddie?” Lance said to him.  “You’re awfully quiet.  You want a carrot or something?”

            Lotor wanted so much more than a carrot right now.

            “Of course he doesn’t,” Pidge said.  “Dokkas only eat rotten eggs and chicken gizzards.  But mostly rotten eggs.  Right, Matt?”

            “Yeah, definitely.”

            That was not true but it wasn’t as if he hadn’t been desperate enough before.

            “Really?  Well, I guess I can find some eggs to leave out,” Lance hemmed.  “Do the chicken gizzards have to be rotten too?”

            “Yes.”

            The privileges of royalty.

            “Don’t look so sad, laddie, we’ll find you plenty of rotten eggs.  Also, you don’t have to keep being a bunny if you don’t want to, even though it’s cute.”

            “Lance are you… talking to someone?” somebody said on the other side of the door.

            The fairy girl had turned back just in time as it opened.

            “Oh, uh.  Just making sure my friends are comfortable, is all,” Lance said to his mother, petting what was now a tabby cat.

            She looked from her son to all the creatures in the room.

            “I don’t see how a rabbit could be comfortable near a cat AND a dog.  You want me to take him somewhere quiet?”

            Lotor stiffened.

            “No, I’m good.  They’re trained, they listen to me.”

            “They do?”

            “Yeah.  I think they… escaped from a circus act or something.”

            “Oh, really?  So, do they know any tricks?”

            “Um, of course,” Lance said.  Lotor hoped Lance’s mother wouldn’t notice an exasperated head shake from a rabbit.  “Play dead, guys.”

            The dog made a sort of sneezing sound that Lotor was sure was an attempt not to laugh.

            It was a bit too dramatic an episode of playing dead for normal animals.

            “Wow,” Lance’s mother said.  “I didn’t know you could train a CAT to do that trick.”

            “You can train ANYTHING to do that trick!” Lance said.  “Even the bunny!  Play dead, bunny!”

            He was not going to.

            “Okay, well, we’re working on it,” Lance said.

            Nightfall could not come soon enough.


	6. Chapter 6

            He got out of the rabbit form the first chance he got.

            It made the room a lot smaller.  A little less scary.

            But he knew he was in trouble when he saw Lance looking at him like that.

            “What are you staring at?” Lotor asked.

            Lance whispered excitedly.  “Ears…”

            Lotor touched an ear.  An incomplete transformation.

            Even the dog seemed to think it was funny.

            He clapped them both to his head and focused on changing back.

            It took him half a breath longer than he expected.

            “Better?”

            “No, I liked it before, actually,” Lance said.

            “Well I’m quite sorry.”

            He wasn’t sorry at all.

            Just worried.

            “It’s okay, you can always put them back, right?”

            He didn’t feel like answering that.

            “Well, if you’re hungry, I got you this egg, I THINK it might be rotten by now, or else it will be in a few days,” Lance said.

            He saw Pidge exchanging a snicker with the dog.

            “I’m fine, thank you,” Lotor said.

            “Wow, way to appreciate his efforts, Prince Lotor,” Pidge smirked.

            Lotor frowned.

            “Perhaps you misunderstand that I wouldn’t BE here if I didn’t appreciate his efforts.”

            You had to FEEL a debt to be in one.  Some fairies were immune.

            Lance thumped him on the shoulder.  He wasn’t ready for that.

            “Well hey, I love being appreciated, if you wanna keep going that’s fine,” Lance said.

            Lotor actually could think of a couple things he liked about Lance.  Like the fact that he went out of his way to get his foot healed.  And the fact that he was a little too stupid to be afraid of him.

            He was still prepared to learn that that was just a front.

            The dog came a bit closer.

            Lotor glared at him.

            “Down, boy.”

            “Don’t you talk to my brother like that,” Pidge growled.  She was putting off another flower on the cheek.

            “Everyone, be nice,” Lance said.  “Or no one gets dessert.”

            “You said there wasn’t any dessert tonight,” Mister Ugly said.

            “Yeah well I’m talking about TOMORROW.”

            Lotor wondered what form he ought to take then.  No more rabbits.  Ever.

            “So what ARE you planning on doing tomorrow?” Pidge asked, plucking the stem off her cheek and flicking it aside.

            Didn’t she realize that leaving a trail could get her caught?

            “Well now that you mention it,” Lance said, “since we’re trying to get laddie-boy here out of debt…”

            Oh, lovely, here it was.

            Lance turned to him.

            “So, like, if you’re a prince, you have connections, right?”

            “You could put it that way,” Lotor said.

            “Great!  Cause I know there’s a beautiful fairy princess somewhere out there, and I want to meet her!”

            Lotor had to think for a moment.

            “Princess?  I’m afraid I’m an only child.”

            “I think he means OUR princess,” Pidge said, looking at her brother.

            The Ljosa had a princess?

            “Well.  You’re gonna have a hard time finding her,” Matt said.

            “Why’s that?” Lance asked.

            “The princess is being held captive in a tower by a bunch of nasty magic and a dragon.”

            Maybe the Ljosa were about as fond of their princesses as the Dokka were their princes.

            “Seriously?” Lance said.  “Then, we’ve got to go rescue her!”

            “You sure about that?” Mister Ugly pawed the floor.  “That’s gonna be REALLY dangerous.”

            “You don’t get to be a hero if you don’t do something dangerous!” Lance said. 

            There was a reason most heroes didn’t live long.

            “So, tell me more about this princess and this dragon,” Lance said.

            “She’s BEAUTIFUL,” said Matt.

            “Who, the princess, or the dragon?” Pidge elbowed him.

            “Well I sure hope it’s the princess, because I don’t want to kiss the dragon,” Lance said.

            “It’s the princess,” the dog nodded.  He smiled a bit.  “She has eyes that look like the ocean, and hair that flows like a river.  And she loves all her people, and she has the most beautiful voice.”

            “And you’re too scared to go save her??” Lance said.

            “Clearly you’ve never heard of dragons,” Pidge scoffed.

            “I have SO heard of dragons!” Lance pouted.  “What’s so special about THIS one?”

            “It’s a DRAGON, it doesn’t have to be that special,” said the dog.  “Though, I’m pretty sure this one spits poison.”

            “Oh.  Well, what else do you know about this captive situation?”

            “Not much,” Mister Ugly said.  He turned pointedly toward Lotor.  “But maybe the DOKKA prince does, seeing as she’s been there ever since the invasion.”

            “The invasion?” Lance said.

            “Nearly two hundred years ago now.”

            “Wait, what?  The princess is two hundred years old?”

            Pidge scoffed.

            “Lance, I’M two hundred years old.  The princess is way older.”

            “Whoa… well, do you think she’ll still kiss me?”

            “How would I know?  I’ve never met her.”

            “Well YOU would kiss someone who rescued you, right?”

            “You rescued HIM,” Pidge nodded toward Lotor.  “Did HE kiss you?”

            Lotor felt his face getting hot.  He sneered.

            “Well, the point is that I want this more than anything else in the world,” Lance said.  “And I’m sure getting somebody the thing they want most would clear Princey’s debt.”

            Lotor stared.

            A kiss from a beautiful woman.

            No matter how much Lance wanted that, it wasn’t a meaningful enough act to settle this kind of debt.  And seeing how long it had taken him to think of it, Lotor guessed he didn’t actually want it all that much.

            But if there really were curses and dragons guarding this princess, there should be plenty of opportunities to save Lance from some deadly peril somewhere.  And THAT would end the debt, and then he could move on.

            “Fine.  I’ll take you there.”

            “You sleazeball,” Pidge glared at him.  “You’re just trying to get him KILLED.”

            “I’m TRYING to repay him properly.  Getting him killed would be counter to that.”

            Her insinuations bothered him.  And frankly, so did his plan.  He was an honorable sort.  He didn’t have a kingdom or a friend or a place to call home.  But he had his honor.

            Someday it would be all he needed.


	7. Chapter 7

            “Lance… where did you get a horse?”

            “Oh, I’m just BORROWING him.”

            Lance’s mother stared.  Lotor tried not to stare back.  That’s not what a horse would do.

            “Who are you borrowing a horse from?” she asked.

            “Well.  You know.  The horse guy.”

            “WHY are you borrowing a horse?”

            “Because I have some stuff to do and it’ll probably take me a few days,” Lance said.

            A few days.

            “What exactly are you going to be doing?”

            Lotor couldn’t wait to hear THIS excuse.

            “Well.  THAT’S a surprise!” Lance said.

            At least Lance’s mother seemed fairly good at handling surprises.

            “So you’re… taking Kitty and Ugly Boy with you?” she motioned.

            “That’s Mister Ugly,” Lance said.  “And yes, they’re good at all KINDS of stuff!”

            “So where’s Bunny?  You want me to take care of him while you’re gone?”

            “Oh.  The horse ate him.”

            She looked at Lotor warily.

            “You be careful, Lance.”

            “You know I will,” he said.

            And he kissed her goodbye.

 

 

            The fairy girl got out of cat form as soon as they were out of sight.

            “Does your mom believe EVERYTHING you say?”

            “Well, she’s not gonna be looking for a rabbit, at least.”  He tugged on Lotor’s halter.  Lotor yanked it back.

            “Man, you could have been a giant rabbit instead!” Lance said.  “Then she would just think my rabbit suddenly got enormous!”

            “Since when is a giant rabbit less conspicuous than a horse?” Mister Ugly said, sauntering beside them.

            “When did I say I wanted to be inconspicuous?” Lance said.  “I’m sure one of these potions from Hunk could turn a rabbit huge.”

            “Well, that’d be a bumpy ride,” Pidge snorted.

            No it wouldn’t, because NOBODY was going to ride him.

            The girl changed into a small bird before they entered the streets of the town.

            “Aww, you’re pretty cute,” Lance said.  He offered her his finger to hop on.  “We won’t be long here, but maybe you guys can help me pick out the stuff we need.”

            Lotor did have the sense that Lance wouldn’t be the best judge of that himself.

            “We gotta get a sword, right?  Princess-savers always need swords!”

            “Do you even know how to USE one?” Mister Ugly said, apparently trying to keep his voice down.

            “It can’t be THAT hard,” Lance said.  “I’ll pick it up as we go along.”

            Like it was a cheerful little jingle and not something that could be fatally mishandled.

            Lotor sighed internally as they went past shop fronts with food and medicine in favor of the blacksmith’s.

            Not that HE was above grazing, but he was quite certain that Lance was.

            But after buying a sword for twelve golden gac, grazing might be all that was left for him.

            This was going to be a hard child to keep alive.

            “Hi, Lance!” somebody said to them.

            There really was no time to be alone when you were with Lance.

            “Hi!” Lance said back.

            “New horse, I see!  What’s his name?”

            “He is named… Prince Laddie!”

            “He’s BEAUTIFUL!”

            Another crowd began to gather.

            Lotor stamped a foot.

            “I know!!” Lance pet him on the neck.  “He’s part unicorn on his father’s side!”

            “So, did you have to catch him like a unicorn, then?”

            “Hmm?  How do you catch a unicorn?”

            “You sit in the woods singing a beautiful song,” the human said.  “And then a unicorn puts its head in your lap and falls asleep.”

            “Oh.  Yeah, that’s kind of what happened.”

            “And then you chop its head off.”

            “WHAT?”

            “Lance couldn’t catch a unicorn that way,” someone else said, winking.  “It has to be a beautiful WOMAN singing the song.”

            “Lance has a beautiful voice, I’m sure he could do it.”

            “Maybe I just got a gay horse,” Lance shrugged.

            Whatever it took to discourage any horse breeders.

            On cue, somebody pushed through the crowd.

            “Lance!  I told my cousin all about your rabbit!  Is he doing better yet?”

            Lance looked at Lotor, then back.

            “Oh, I’m sorry.  The rabbit’s dead.”


	8. Chapter 8

            They had to cross a small river leaving Creekshire.

            The two Ljosa were already on the other side, a sparrow and a finch.

            “Come on already!” the finch called over to them.

            “It’s not MY fault!” Lance shouted back.  “How do you start a horse?”  He kicked Lotor in the side.  “Go!  Mush!  Please!”

            They could stand here all day.  He might carry a bag or two, but he was not carrying Lance.

            On the other side, the sparrow stopped being a sparrow.

            “Looks like your horse is afraid of water,” she smirked.

            “Looks more like your horse is a little prima donna,” the finch said, flying back across.

            For Matt’s information, Lotor was currently a half-ton pound prima donna, while HE was a half-ounce bird.

            Not that he wasn’t going to do anything about it.  But he wished Matt felt the LEAST bit threatened by that.

            Lance dismounted, and the finch turned itself into a tall golden horse.

            Apparently he didn’t have to be ugly if he didn’t want to.

            “We’re not ALL spoiled little princes around here,” the horse tossed its mane.  “I’ll take you across.”

            Lance looked pensively at the horse and then across the river.

            “Thanks but you know what, a real princess-saver doesn’t care if his feet get wet once in a while,” he said.

            He took off his shoes and waded across.

            Lotor followed.

            The water came up to his knees.  It was a little higher on Lance.

            The other bank was soft and grassy.

            “Hey, you want to hear a dirty joke?” Lance said as he stepped out of the water.  “A white horse fell in the mud!”

            “Want to hear an even DIRTIER joke?” Pidge snickered.

            “No, Pidge,” said the golden horse.

            It wasn’t particularly hot that day.  They would dry off, eventually.

            “All right,” said the golden horse, checking the sun.  “This way.”

            Fairly open terrain.  It would be hard for someone to surprise them, but it would be hard for them to surprise anyone else, too.

            “Man, Pidge, aren’t you feeling left out?” Lance said, patting the two horses.  “You should join the horse party!”

            Pidge snorted.

            “Nah, I’m good.”

            “Oh come on, why?”

            “Because this is how I do horses,” she said and turned into a horse the size of a small dog.

            Lance stopped walking.  Lotor yanked on the halter to keep him going.

            “Whaaaaaaaat, you’re so adorable, I could pick you up!”

            He had the feeling Lance was GOING to.

            “How about a cow?  Can you be a tiny cow too?”

            Apparently she could.

            “Tiny elephant?”

            That, too.

            “Tiny gorilla?”

            This journey was going to take a lot longer than he’d planned.

            “Tiny grizzly bear!”

            “Lance, you’re a musician, right?” Matt said, turning back to human form.  He untied the mandolin from the pack on Lotor’s back.  “Why don’t you play us a song as we go?”

            “Heck, I thought you’d never ask!”

            Lotor was surprised that Lance had lasted this long.

            Their tiny gorilla changed into a bird and flew behind him.  Fortunately, the set of a horse’s eyes made them hard to sneak up on, so he wasn’t startled when she lit on his back and took on her usual form.

            “Do you know ‘The Bridge to Altea?’” she asked Lance.

            “Sorry, nope,” he said.

            She snorted.

            “No one does.”

            She wasn’t heavy, but combined with the gear it was a little much.

            “Just start something and we’ll catch on,” Matt said.

            Lance plucked a couple of strings as though he were thinking.  Then he started a simple song about fishing for crawdads.

            It was annoying.  The two Ljosa seemed to be enjoying it, though.  Even before joining in, they were swaying to the rhythm and smiling.

            He resisted with all he was good for.

            They were just so WILLING to succumb to the magic.  It was like they didn’t even know it was there.

            Maybe they didn’t.

            After a few verses they were singing, too.

_“Whatcha gonna do when the lake runs dry, yank on his ears until he cries, oh honey, oh baby mine.”_

            That wasn’t how Lance had sung it.  He didn’t appreciate the accompanying ear-pulling, either.  But he’d had worse things done to him.

            Lance had begun letting them sing their own verses, which they seemed to be enjoying more than the actual song.  They didn’t need more than the slightest cues; it was like they’d all been singing together for years.

            That was one of the scary things about this sort of magic.  The blending of minds, all conducted by the spellcaster.  And looking at them, they didn’t care, they had WILLINGLY gone into it, they honestly, completely didn’t know.

            Matt took a verse.

_“Going to a place where the air is nice, honey… going to a place where the air is nice, babe…   Going to a place where the air is nice, never gonna be the same place twice, honey, oh baby mine.”_

            There was a verse where nobody sang.  He felt them all looking at him.

            Were they stupid?  He was a horse.

            Lance slowed the beat.  He carried the next verse by himself, not taking his eyes off Lotor.

_“What’ll I do, what’ll I be, honey?  What’ll I do, what’ll I be, babe?  What’ll I do, what’ll I be, somebody’s out there following me, honey, oh baby mine.”_

            This was not a good song.


	9. Chapter 9

            They stopped to camp as the sun went down.

            The task of digging a fire pit went to the dog.  Lotor was glad of that.  He was sore.

            He was also glad to not be a horse.

            “Man, wish I’d thought of bringing firewoord,” Lance said as he scrounged up some twigs.

            “Well, we can burn the grass if we have to,” Mister Ugly said.  “But it’ll be pretty smoky.”

            “It’s not even cold, do we really have to keep a fire going all night?”

            “Only if you want to keep the animals away.”

            Lotor jumped when a dead rabbit fell into his lap.

            “Be useful and skin it,” Pidge said.

            She had dropped out of the sky, a raptor a moment before.

            The rabbit was warm, eyes still open like it wasn’t really dead.  Its head hung strange, it was tiny and light like it was only made of air.

            “Aww, it’s so cute,” Lance said.  “That’s kinda sad.”

            “Knife,” Lotor said.  He didn’t carry one.

            Lance dug him out a knife.

            “Not much to burn, is there,” Mister Ugly said, turning human again.

            “Heh.  Because it’s ALREADY burned,” Lance scoffed.

            “Oh?”

            “Yeah, there used to be a lot more farmland out this way, but we’ve been getting a lot of fires around here.”

            Lotor started with the neck to drain the blood.

            Beside him, Matt threw a spark into the fire pit.

            “Whoa!  How did you do that?” Lance said.

            “Magic,” said Matt.

            “Oh come on, tell me.”

            “No, it really is magic,” Pidge said.  “Watch this, I’ll burn princey boy.”

            “Ehhh, that’s fine,” Lance said, stopping her.  “He’s holding a knife.”

            He barely needed it to pull the rabbit’s skin apart.

            His hands were getting sticky.

            “It’s a Ljosa thing,” Matt explained, laying a couple more sticks near the flame.

            “What, fire?”

            “Well, light, really.  The Dokka have darkness, and we have light.”

            “Whaddaya know, laddie, it IS a good thing we brought them with us!” Lance turned to Lotor.

            Lotor grunted in reply.

            A rabbit was even smaller without the fur.

            “Dibs on the liver,” Pidge said.

            “Yeah, sorry we don’t have any rotten eggs and chicken gizzards, laddie,” Lance said.

            “I’ll be fine.”

            “It’s good to hear you talk, you’ve been so quiet all day!”

            He grit his teeth and split the rabbit up the middle.

            Tiny intestines, tiny kidneys, somewhere inside, a tiny heart.

            “Well this is just depressing,” Lance pulled out the mandolin.  “Do you guys know any campfire songs?”

            Pidge grinned.

            “Do we know any campfire songs.”

            “Haven’t you all sung enough today?” Lotor sighed.

            “Well, maybe,” Lance said.  “But I haven’t heard YOU sing all day!”

            “No, you haven’t.”

            Lance plucked a series of chords, and fortunately, no one sang.  Mister Ugly put the rabbit on a spit while a little tabby cat began to pick through the innards.

            “It’s a pretty good night, isn’t it?” Lance said.

            Mister Ugly smiled at him near the fire.

            “This must be how all the great heroes spend their nights,” Lance said dreamily, still plucking chords.  “I bet Shiro does this all the time!”

            “Who?” Matt said.

            “You haven’t heard of him???  He’s the BEST knight there’s ever been!  Everybody loves him, he’s like, the most popular guy there is!”

            “Mmm… well I don’t know that much about humans,” Matt turned the rabbit.

            “Oh my gosh, he’s SO cool!!  He’s always, like, saving princesses and slaying dragons and leading armies and doing backflips off horses and protecting the innocent and kissing the ladies and shooting a walnut at three hundred paces and… you know, stuff like THAT.”

            “Shooting a walnut at three hundred paces?” Pidge said, wiping her mouth.

            “Okay, well I might have made that one up.  But he’s really totally amazing.”

            “Hm,” Matt pulled the rabbit out of the fire.  “If he’s so amazing, why hasn’t he rescued OUR princess?”

            Lance shrugged.

            “I dunno, maybe he’s never heard of her, either.  Cuz he would DEFINITELY do it if he had, he’s that kind of guy.”

            “I don’t believe humans frequently concern themselves with the affairs of the fae,” Lotor said.  Everybody looked at him.

            “Well, unless it’s YOU, laddie-boy,” Lance winked.

            Lotor looked into the fire.

            Indeed.


	10. Chapter 10

            He would have taken his turn tending the fire, but Matt wouldn’t let him be the only one awake.

            He could have slept instead but he had his pride to consider.

            The fire hissed between him and Matt.  They regarded each other in silence.  With no one else to distract him, Matt looked much warier than he had in the daytime.

            Lotor was sure that he looked the same way.

            There was a scar on Matt’s face, barely visible in the firelight.  But he’d seen it well enough in the daytime to know what kind of scar it was.

            “Fine.  Stare,” Matt said.

            Lotor scoffed and looked away.

            This was a different Matt, the Matt reserved for him.  The one who had no one to please or entertain, the one who had someone to hate.

            He could hate Matt, too.

            The fire left curling orange strands in the air.  They’d been feeding it with the driest grass they could find.

            Through the sound of the crickets, a slight motion came.

            Matt looked over.

            “Pidge, what are you doing?”

            “…putting a mushroom in Lance’s shoe.”

            Lotor pretended he didn’t find that funny.

            “Well, good job, you just scared our dear prince more than you’ll ever scare LANCE.”

            “That’s not true,” Lotor huffed.

            “I saw you jump,” Matt smirked.

            “Well excuse ME for trying to watch out for a rather delicate human charge.”

            Pidge faced away from them.

            “But none of you saw those eyes over there.”

            It happened fast.

            A creature burst out of the grass, huge and snarling.  And another, both of them dark and quick.

            He flinched first and second leapt over to Lance.

            “What the…?” Lance sat up.

            “Stay down,” Lotor stopped him.

            The creatures were loud now, snarling as they darted around the campsite.

            “What’s going on?” Lance said, not staying down.

            By the light of the fire he saw Matt crouch to the earth and spring up as a tiger.

            “Wolves?” Lance said.

            “Intruders.”  He held Lance back by the shoulder.  “Stay put, if they come here–”

            Lance pushed Lotor out of the way and picked up his sword.

            “Well they’re gonna have to come through LANCE if they want to fight us!”

            “Stop!” Lotor grabbed his arm.  “You don’t know how to use that!”

            The tiger swept at a wolf.  He was bigger than they were, but not by much.  They moved in sync as they rushed him.

            “Man, they’re fast!” Lance said, holding up the sword.  “Where’s Pidge?”

            Lotor didn’t see her anywhere.  He hoped she had gotten somewhere safe.

            The tiger was more agile but the wolves were FAST, and there were two of them.  The gray one got ahold of his neck, hanging on tight as he tried to break loose.

            The black wolf crashed to the ground and cried something unmistakable for pain.

            And it turned into a human.

            Doubled over on the dirt, clutching a wrist, and screaming.

            Lance lowered the sword.

            “What the heck???”

            The second wolf let go of the tiger, bristled and growling.  The tiger roared back, and the wolf circled around until it reached the screaming human.

            He climbed onto its back and grabbed the fur on its neck, movements tense and sluggish.

            The gray wolf ran and they were gone.

            And just like that, the night was quiet again.  Crickets, crackles, the heavy breathing of a tiger.

            “I thought the fire was gonna keep the wolves away!” Lance said, still looking at the spot where they’d been.

            Lotor let go of Lance.

            “Those weren’t wolves.”

            The tiger came back to the fire, sleek in its light.  The dark stains on its fur glinted as much as its eyes.

            It stared him down in that way only a tiger could.

            “Friends of yours?”

            Lotor scoffed.

            “You think I have friends?”

            He started when a snake slithered out from the underbrush.

            A snake with golden eyes.

            It coiled around and turned back into Pidge.

            She spat in red.

            “Ugh.  Dokka.”


	11. Chapter 11

            No one slept particularly well for the rest of the night.

            They were all awake before the crack of dawn.  Nobody spoke but they all knew it was time to move on.

            The Ljosa were throwing dirt over what was left of the fire.  Lance began to gather together his things.  Lotor relished the last few moments of not being a horse.

            “So, who were they?” Lance said at last.

            “Dokka, obviously,” Pidge scoffed.

            “But, like… WHO?”

            They all looked at Lotor.

            He sighed.

            “You know I don’t actually KNOW all the Dokka by name.”

            “What kind of prince ARE you?” Mister Ugly glared at him.

            “An unpopular one, to be sure.”

            “Yeah, it’s no wonder, if THAT’S how much you care about your people.”

            “Did you recognize them, at least?” Lance said.

            Lotor shook his head.

            “There are very many Dokka out there.  But I’m quite certain I’ve never encountered THEM before.”

            “How are you so sure of THAT?” Pidge said.

            “My father’s people…”

            Wouldn’t have run away without killing him.

            “They were half-breeds,” Matt said.  “Or at least the black one was.  So they should have been fairly distinct, right?”

            “If only because the Dokka don’t TOLERATE half-breeds.”

            He’d only seen a handful in his life.

            He didn’t think any of them were alive right now.

            “Yeah, well, the Dokka don’t tolerate much of ANYTHING,” Matt touched the gauze on his neck.

            “I know.”

            The horizon was taking some color.  He could feel his human form losing stability.

            When he got to choose, he preferred being something that could defend itself.  A horse wasn’t the most ideal, but it was large and fast and strong in the hooves.

            Maybe it wasn’t the worst form.  Maybe he’d learn to like it if he had to.

            But he would never like the bridles and the saddle packs and the people who thought they could own him.

            Lance set him up with two of those before sitting on the ground to grab his boots.

            “…What the HECK is in my shoe?”


	12. Chapter 12

The woods outside Creekshire were loud that night.

The howling of a creature, drawn out and constant.

Through the trees, a man approached the beast.

It stood, it growled, it was bleeding between the shoulders.  A wound that was fresh yet cauterized, tearing back open.

“I’m not here to hurt you,” said the man.  “I know you’re upset about something.”

The wolf’s snout creased as it snarled.

Putting up his hands, the man stepped closer.

“Please.  I know what you are, and I know something’s wrong.  Please tell me what it is.”

The wolf eyed him for a moment, then took a humanoid form.

Her skin wasn’t a human color.

She looked even more mistrustful with that face.  But sober, like someone who had given up.

“He’s dying,” she said.

There was a mass on the ground behind her.  A body that was limp, heavily breathing.

“Of what?”

“Snakebite.”

“Let me see him.  I can try to help.”

She looked like she was regretting everything, but she let him past.

He knelt down to the boy and turned him over.

The wound was hideous and swollen.  It was still bleeding.

“What kind of snake?”

“I don’t know,” said the girl.

The boy whimpered softly as his hand was manipulated.

The girl put his head in her lap.

“How does it look?” she asked softly.

The man shook his head.  He drew a couple of vials from his pocket, held each of them up to the hazy light of the dawn, and finally selected one.

“Swallow it,” he said, putting it to the boy’s lips.

He seemed to be struggling even with that.

The man wet a cloth with something and started to clean the wound.

“It might be a while before the fever goes down.  I think he’ll be all right, though.”

The birds were getting louder as the sky turned light.  Beneath them, the man prepped a bandage.

The girl pushed the boy’s hair out of his face as he fell asleep.

“You’re bleeding, too,” said the man.

“I’ll be fine.”

“As long as you’re sure,” he said, getting up.  “You should change the bandage in a couple hours.”

“Sir… don’t go yet.”

“What is it?”

“You said you know what we are…”

“Yes.  I do.”

“Then you know what this means.  For him.”

The man waved a hand.

“It’s fine.  Just take care of yourselves.”

The girl growled, just a little.

“You don’t seem to REALLY understand.”

“No, I do.  But I don’t consider it a debt and neither should you.”

She looked at the boy, sadly.

“It’s too late for that.”

The man knelt back down beside her.

“You really care about him, don’t you?”

“He’s the only family I have left.”

“He might not even remember it,” said the man.  “He’ll be fine if he doesn’t know.”

“Do you even KNOW what happens to a fairy who doesn’t pay a debt?” she glared.  “There’s no telling WHAT kind of curse it could be. I’m not gonna let him risk that.”

The man shook his head in defeat.

“All right, all right, I’m not gonna force you either way.  But I don’t expect he’ll be happy about this.”

“We can stand ‘not happy.’”

“I can tell.  You’re sure you don’t want anything for that burn?”

“Quite.”

It was a beautiful morning, with the birds awake and the sun starting to hit the dew.

“If you’re going to be staying around, there IS something you can help me with,” said the man.  “What’s your name?”

“Acxa.”

“That’s lovely.”

“It was  _ his  _ idea.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” said the man.

“So, what about you?”

“Folks around here call me Shiro.”

 


	13. Chapter 13

            It was nearly dusk when they arrived.

            “This is the place?” Lance asked.

            A pond, secluded, in a valley full of trees.

            “Look what’s in the water,” Pidge pointed.

            Lotor took a step closer.  So did Lance.

            Skulls.  Giant, canid ones, mostly, and some that looked human.

            “Yep,” said Matt.  “This is the place.”

            “So, uh,” Lance hemmed.  “Is this your friend’s collection?”

            Matt scoffed.

            “‘Friend’s’ a bit of a strong word.”  He turned to Lotor.  “You.  You’re not allowed to hear this.  Turn into a worm, or something that doesn’t have ears.”

            Lotor snorted and pawed the ground.  He couldn’t.

            Not that he would have EVER shapeshifted into a worm.

            “I think laddie-boy is saying that he hates worms,” Lance said.

            Pidge eyed him.

            “Or maybe that he CAN’T.”

            “Then somebody cover his ears,” Matt practically snarled.

            Lance did it.

            And Matt called the fairy’s name.

            For a while, there was nothing.

            And then out of the sky came a heron.

            It landed in the water, standing on a skull.  It looked them all over, stepped to the ground, and turned into a woman.

            Half of her face was missing.

            “You’re… Ljosa,” Pidge said beside him.

            The woman looked down at her.

            “And YOU’RE still alive.”

            “No funny stuff today,” said Matt to the woman.  “We just have some questions.”

            “Mine first,” she said.  “Why haven’t you killed this Dokka?”

            “We need him,” Lance said.

            That wasn’t strictly true.

            She looked Lotor straight in the eye.  He could have flinched from her gaze.

            “What do you need him for?”

            “The same reason we need YOU,” Matt said.  “We’re going to take back our princess.”

            “Don’t.”

            “Too late, our minds are made up,” said Pidge.

            “You’ll die.”

            “Well maybe we WON’T if you tell us what you know,” said Matt.

            And Lotor thought that aggressive voice was reserved just for HIM.

            The woman touched her face.

            “The spells are nothing compared to the dragon.”

            “What kinds of spells are there?”

            “A forest of thorns that changes every time you look around.  A red cloud of iron.  A pit that goes straight to Taujeer.”

            “How about that dragon?” Lance said, brandishing the sword.

            Her left eye was miscolored and probably blind.

            “It can find you anywhere.”

            Even Lance looked a little scared.

            “How?”

            “It can hear for miles.  Its poison can melt your bones.”

            “Does it really live in Altea?” Pidge said.

            The fairy scoffed.

            “There is no Altea anymore.  It only lives where Altea USED to be.”

            “Psst guys, what’s Altea?” Lance waved.

            “Altea was the kingdom of the Ljosa,” the fairy said to him.  “Before the Dokka came and destroyed it.”

            “So, what was it like?” Pidge said.

            “It was the last thing worth dying for.”

            “What, and the princess isn’t?” said Lance.

            The woman looked up to the sky.

            “If there was a way to get her back, we would have done it.  You speak like you think nobody tried.”

            She looked at Matt and Pidge.

            “I love my princess, too.  But I also love what’s left of our kingdom.  If we can’t get her back, we can at least make the world safe for OURSELVES.  Stay here and we’ll eradicate the Dokka from our own little kingdom.”

            “I told you I wasn’t interested,” Matt grimaced.  “There’s just too many.”

            “And you call yourselves a hero party,” the woman sneered.  “Does it really matter how a hero dies?”

            Lance stepped in between them.

            “Well, thanks to your pointers, nobody’s going to be dying.  So, we’d better be on our way now–”

            The woman moved past him.

            “I know your real name,” she said to Matt.  “I can make you stay.”

            Matt gripped Lotor’s reins.

            “Hira.  I bind you by your name, you are going to let us go.”

            The woman froze like she’d been anchored in place.  She scowled but said nothing.

            Matt turned to the rest of them.  Lotor couldn’t tell if he looked more angry or afraid.

            “Come on.  We’re going.”


	14. Chapter 14

            “Okay.  So WHAT is your problem.”

            Lotor shouldered off the saddle pack as Matt glared at him.

            “You’re going to have to be more specific.”

            “You know what I’m talking about.”

            “You’re cursed, aren’t you?” Pidge said.

            Lotor felt his fist tighten.

            “Yes.  I am.  Are you happy?”

            “Actually, kinda,” Pidge said.

            “What?  What are you talking about?” Lance asked.

            Pidge pointed a thumb at Lotor.

            “Either princey-boy here is a huge obstinate JERK, or there’s something affecting his ability to shapeshift.”

            “Really?” said Lance.  “So what is it?”

            “A curse,” Lotor said.

            “Yeah, I got that already.  Like, what kind?  How?”

            “I’d rather not talk about it.”

            Matt gave him another one of those looks.

            “Well, you know, you should have been talking about this a LONG time ago,” he said.  “Since it’s pretty RELEVANT to what we’re doing.”

            Lotor folded his arms.

            “Of course.  I enjoy telling people who don’t trust me all about my personal life.”

            “Oh, come on, laddie, what about ME?” Lance said.

            Lotor looked away.

            “What do you want to know?”

            “Well, like… who cursed you?”

            “Someone who doesn’t like me.”

            “Why did they do it?”

            “Because they don’t like me.”

            “Why don’t they like you?”

            Lotor was about to answer, then stopped.

            “It’s complicated.”

            “So, what exactly are the parameters of this curse?” Pidge said.  “Because it doesn’t seem to be in effect ALL the time.”

            No, but it was getting there.

            “Daylight,” he said.  “If I haven’t chosen a form by then, the curse chooses for me.”

            “Wow,” Lance said.  “That really sucks.”

            “Yes.  It does.”

            They began to set up camp.

            “Was it a Ljosa who cursed you?” Pidge asked after a while.

            “No,” he said.

            “Why would the Ljosa be out to curse him?” Lance asked.

            “Well maybe because he helped destroy our entire civilization,” Matt scowled.

            Lotor clenched a fist.

            “I wasn’t involved with that.”

            Matt turned to face him.

            “Is that the truth, Prince Lotor?”

            There was that feeling.  That magic.  His name, not just being said but being USED.

            It felt like being stripped naked.  He tried not to look so uncomfortable.

            “Yes.  That is the truth.”

            He saw Matt’s face change, but he didn’t expect him to apologize for using his name.

            “How could you not have been involved?”

            “Well, for one thing I wasn’t BORN then.”

            Pidge jumped over to him.

            “What?  No way.  When WERE you born?”

            “Sixty-two years ago.”

            Pidge took a long gasp.

            “You’re a BABY!” she grinned.

            “And you’re still counting individual years, that’s so cute,” Matt smiled patronizingly.

            “Why are you so TALL?” Pidge asked.

            Lotor huffed.

            “Why aren’t YOU?”

            “Oh my gosh, you’re so CUTE when you’re angry!” Pidge cooed.

            He could feel his face getting hot.

            “Well, I gotta say,” Lance said to him, “you look pretty good for sixty-two.”

            “…thank you.”

            It was tougher to gather firewood after dark.  But Matt had wanted them to get far away from Hira’s grounds.

            Lotor wouldn’t have argued with that.

            “Hey, look!” Pidge called, picking something off the ground.  “It’s a godkiss!”

            Lance and Matt leaned in to see it.  Lotor looked over, too - he couldn’t have said he wasn’t curious.

            A tiny stem with leaves.  More leaves than he usually saw on that sort.

            “Wow!” Lance marveled.  “You know what they say about godkisses!”

            “That it’s good luck?” Pidge said.

            “That if you make a wish on every leaf, one of them will come true!”

            “Pff.  Is that a human superstition?”

            “Well, does it work?” Matt said.

            “I don’t know,” said Lance.  “I don’t find too many of them.”

            “Yeah, it helps to be a bit lower to the ground,” Matt tousled Pidge’s hair.

            “Oh, shut up, Matt,” Pidge scoffed.

            “What, you find these all the time?” Lance said to her.

            “FIND them?  I had one growing on my NOSE once.”

            Lance laughed.

            “So, was it good luck?”

            Pidge shrugged.

            “Well, we’ve been okay so far,” said Matt.

            “Guys,” said Lance.  “Since there’s four leaves and there’s four of US, we could all make a wish and see which one comes true!”

            Pidge snorted.

            “You’re weird.”

            “Oh, come on, let’s just do it!” Lance said.

            Pidge held up the little stalk.

            They all took a leaf.

            “Come on, laddie, that means you too!” Lance said.  “I’m sure you have plenty to wish for.  Wish that curse off yourself, maybe!”

            Maybe.

            Lotor pulled the last leaf off the stem, brushing Pidge’s finger.

            He could wish about the curse.  He could wish about the debt.

            He could wish about things that made both of those seem like child’s play.

            It was foolish, this human superstition.

            But he made a wish anyway.


	15. Chapter 15

            “Come on, laddie, let me see it.”

            “It’s fine.”

            “I just wanna _see_ it.”

            That was a lie.  He was going to insist on using some other sort of healing magic with undesirable side effects.

            “Fairies are a lot stronger humans,” Lotor said.

            “It’s true,” Matt corroborated.  “And so are horses.”

            “Come on, it still looks like it hurts.”

            “It doesn’t,” Lotor lied.

            “I mean, I’m still gonna agree with Lance on that one.”

            “Would both of you please stop.”

            “Your choice, kid,” Matt shrugged.  “Don’t say we didn’t try.”

            It was always fun to be blamed for this sort of thing.

            The saddle pack had been abrading him since the first day, but it had only just reached a point where Lance noticed it.  Lotor wished he hadn’t.

            “I’ll take horse duty tomorrow,” Matt said.

            It was only a matter of time before Matt demanded a return on that investment.  But maybe he wouldn’t mind having a break for now.

            “Hey guys!  Check this out!”

            Pidge came out of the trees with something in her hands.

            “Whatcha got?” he heard Matt say.

            “A frog?” Lance said.

            Lotor looked over.

            It was a toad, not a frog.  Brown and lumpy, not very big but of course everything looked bigger when Pidge was the one holding it.

            “Just wait,” Pidge said.

            The toad opened its mouth.

            Slick between its lips, a human eyeball slid out.

            “Aw man,” Lance said.  “That’s disgusting.”

            Lotor’s heart seized.

            He snatched away the toad.  The eyeball lolled in place, from the Ljosa fairs to HIM.

            The feeling of magic all throughout the toad.

            He crushed it in his fist.

            “Laddie, what the HECK?”

            He couldn’t breathe he was so afraid.  He looked around wildly, wanting to run but knowing he couldn’t, there wasn’t a safe place anywhere, the land itself was watching.

            And so was SHE.

            The guts oozed between his knuckles.  The pull to turn into something fast and bolt was incredible, he wanted to run and he wanted to scream and he wanted to break the next thing that touched him.

            “Okay, buddy,” Lance said with a hand on his shoulder.  “What’s going on?”

            He flicked the entrails from his fingers, probably getting some on Pidge.  She looked like she hadn’t gotten over the startle.  He didn’t have it in him to feel bad about that, he dropped to his knees, the ground felt cold, the air felt cold, his heart wouldn’t quiet down.

            “It saw me,” he said without meaning to.

            Lance knelt down beside him.  He hated it, it was pure shame. 

            He smacked Lance’s hand away as he tried to touch him again.

            “It’s all right, okay?  Calm down.”

            “It’s not THAT all right,” Matt glared with an arm around Pidge. 

            “Matt, you’re not helping,” Lance said.  He turned back to Lotor.  “You look TERRIBLE.  Seriously, what is it?”

            It took several breaths before he could speak.

            “The witch,” he said at last.  “She’s always watching.”

            “What witch?” Pidge said, brushing something off her lapel.

            “Is this that person you were talking about who doesn’t like you?” Matt said.

            He wanted to respond a little more nastily, but it just didn’t come.

            “Yes.”

            “Since when is there a witch around here?” Pidge said.

            Since forever.

            “She’s old,” he managed to say.

            Lance handed him an open canteen.

            “Here, have some water.”

            He didn’t see how that was going to help, but he took it.  And he hated himself for it, but part of him wished Lance would play something to calm him down.

            “So, who exactly is this witch?” Matt asked, looking just as mistrustful as the day he’d first met him.

            “The witch of the Dokka,” Lotor said, wiping his hand on the grass.  “One of the more powerful magic users in the world.”

            “So why haven’t we heard of her?” Pidge put her hands on her hips.

            “She’s a stealth creature,” Lotor said.  “Even among her own people.”

            “So what did YOU do to get on her bad side?” Matt asked.

            “Guys, come on,” Lance said.  “Look at him, he needs a minute.  But really, laddie, whadja DO?”

            “I’m not sure it’s something I _did_ rather than something I AM.”

            “Oh.  So what are you?”

            “A disappointment.”

            “You know, ‘disappointing’ is still something that you DO,” Pidge said.

            “So what about that frog thing?” Lance said.

            His hand was still wet.

            “She’s looking for me.”

            “And if she finds you?”

            “She’ll kill me, or she’ll do something worse.”

            “Oh.  Wow.”

            Matt let go of Pidge and came over.

            “Well, you know, you’re pretty easy to spot.  Even in disguise.”

            “I’m aware.”

            “Yeah, laddie, what’s up with that?  Can you do anything that’s NOT all white?”

            “What do you think.”

            “What about YOU guys?” Lance turned to Matt and Pidge.  “You guys are magic, can YOU do anything about that?”

            Pidge snorted.

            “I’m not sure what you’re thinking of, but fairy magic DOES have its limits.”

            “FAIRY magic, you say,” Lance said.  “Are you guys thinking what I’M thinking?”

            “I don’t know, what are you thinking?”

            “That there’s a very special detour we oughta take!”


	16. Chapter 16

            The town was called Blackport for its black-market goods.

            “My mom always said I couldn’t go here,” Lance said as they entered the streets.  “You know.  Dangerous stuff and all that.”

            What better place for them to be.

            The bay opened up below the town, spreading far in the midday sun.

            “Fish, fresh and dried!” someone called out to Lance.

            “Oh hey!  I think we’re good, but thank you!”

            “Cute place,” Matt said, trotting beside Lance.  “Doesn’t look THAT dangerous.”

            “Well, I mean, pretty much everything that happens here is illegal,” Lance said.  “Especially the magic.”

            There was a thin haze in the air, not just the sea spray but the fumes of various magical concoctions permeating the town.

            “So where do you want to start looking?” Matt said.

            Lance hefted Lotor into one arm to put a hand to his face.

            “Hm.  How about over there?”

            The nearest building that wasn’t a pub or a dwelling.  There certainly were a lot of pubs.

            “Uh… guess I should leave you outside, huh?” Lance said to Matt.

            “You should probably tie me to a post so they don’t get suspicious.”

            Lotor shuddered.  Lance pet him on the head and tied Matt to the nearest post.

            “Kick them if they try to steal our stuff.”

            “Of course.”

            A little bird sat on their bags of gear.

            “All right, laddie!” Lance said.  “We’re gonna go look at some stuff!  I guess, uh… hiss if you don’t like it.”

            Lance pet him again and went into the door.

           

            The shop was tended by a dog.

            “Hi!” she waved from the counter.  “What can I help you with?”

            Lotor felt his fur bristle all by itself.

            “Oh.  Hi?” Lance said.

            “It’s okay, I don’t bite,” the dog said, screwing a lid onto a jar.  “Whatcha need?”

            She walked on two feet and wore a strange-looking eyepiece.

            “Well I’m here for… something kinda strong.”

            “You mean the unregulated stuff?”

            “Yeah, that.”

            “I figured you did.  What kind?”

            “Something to create a REALLY convincing disguise.  And it has to work on, like… something really magical.”

            “You mean that fairy you’re carrying there?”

            Lotor hissed and the dog woman laughed.

            “Uh…” Lance said.  “That’s a cat.”

            The woman tapped her eyepiece.

            “Not through this he’s not.”

            “What?  What is that?”

            The dog woman chuckled and motioned him over.

            “C’mere, try it out.”

            Lance put Lotor down on the counter.  The shopkeeper took off the eyepiece.

            “Is this something they don’t let you have outside of Blackport?” Lance asked.

            “Nah, it’s just a little hard to come by.”

            Lance put it on.

            “Whoa, laddie!  You really DON’T look like a cat through this!”

            “Yeah, you looked pretty funny carrying HIM in here.”

            “How does this thing work?”

            Lotor already knew the answer.

            “A stone with a hole in it,” the dog woman said.  “Lets you see through illusions.”

            “That’s awesome,” Lance looked around the rest of the shop.  “I gotta drill ME a hole sometime!”

            The woman laughed.

            “Doesn’t work like that, kid.  Has to be NATURE doing the work.  That’s how the magic gets in.”

            “Aww, okay,” Lance turned back to her.  He started.  “Whoa.  Uh…”

            “I know,” winked the dog.  “I’m pretty, aren’t I?”

            “You’re HUMAN.”

            “Yeah,” she brushed something off the counter.  “Stuff happens when you work with the unregulated magics.”

            Of course it did.  Especially when it was AMATEURS doing it.

            Lance took off the eyepiece and handed it back to her.

            “Well, dogs are great, too,” he said.

            She smiled.

            “You’re sweet.  So, potion for your cat?  I’ve got an impersonation tonic I’ve been working on.”

            “Oh yeah?  That sounds good!”

            The woman bent to a lower shelf.

            “Just to warn you, though, I’m not really done testing it yet, and I can’t promise it won’t give you some nasty internal sunburn.  Everything here is at your own risk.”

            “Right,” Lance said, looking at Lotor.  Lotor hoped he was reading the expression he was sending him.

            “I think we’ll check around some other places,” Lance picked Lotor up.  “But we’ll definitely think about it.”

            “Sure thing, kid,” the dog nodded in their direction.  “And just be careful around town.  Some of those thieves hide pretty well.”

            To someone without a seeing stone.


	17. Chapter 17

            “What do you say, guys?” Lance said as they came to the center of the town.  “Lunch time?”

            “I wouldn’t buy the fish,” said the horse.  “They’re probably tainted with magic.”

            “Oh.  Right,” Lance said.  He dug a crust of bread out of the horse’s pack.  Lotor really was glad not to be the horse.

            They sat in the town square and got fewer stares than Lotor would have expected.  It was that kind of place, after all.

            “C’mere, birdie,” Lance held out the bread.  Pidge lit on his finger.

            Lotor had to agree with Matt - ALL the food in this town was probably tainted.  The fish, the grass, the mice.  He was glad there was something for Pidge.

            “Would you listen to that,” Lance said, leaning back.  “It sounds so different from Creekshire.”

            Lotor looked up.  So did Matt and Pidge.

            He listened.

            It was louder than Creekshire, the voices more raucous and varied.  Doors slammed, bottles smashed, people argued over trades and prices.  Over them, the street criers called out with goods you couldn’t find in Creekshire.  Not fish THIS fresh, not magic THIS untrustworthy.

            And not too far away, the pulse of the sea coming in.

            They weren’t as calm as the people of Creekshire.  They seemed happy in a different way.

            Lotor tried to parse out the reason but he stopped when he realized he was jealous.

            He didn’t notice that Lance had taken out the mandolin.

_“In Seaside’s fair city, where the girls are so pretty, I first laid my eyes on sweet Molly Malone…”_

            Lotor didn’t need this right now.  He was already feeling put off by these happy, lawless people all around.

            _“…as she wheeled her wheelbarrow, through the streets broad and narrow, crying, ‘Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh…’”_

            He’d never heard Lance play a song this slow before.

            He hoped he never would again.  It made him want to feel sad.

            It was the magic doing that to him, of course.  He would be all right when it was over. 

            But he couldn’t allow himself to be sad.  Not now, not later.  He just knew that as soon as it started, everything would come unraveled, he’d look at himself and realize just how much he was missing, and then he’d start to WANT those things and then he’d try to GET those things and then he’d be distracted and caught, or worse, he’d be disappointed, and then he’d walk around wanting those things forever.

            _“Alive, alive, oh, alive, alive, oh, crying, ‘Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh…’”_

            Lance was a beautiful singer.  It sounded like he was playing in time with the ocean.

            The port was quieter now.  There were eyes on them all over, people slowing as they walked by.

            Lance didn’t seem to notice the staring.

_“She died of a fever, and no one could save her, and that was the end of sweet Molly Malone…  Now her ghost wheels her barrow, through the streets broad and narrow, crying, ‘Cockles and mussels, alive, alive, oh…’”_

            It was strange to see a horse cry.

            Lotor tried to calm his breath.

            He wouldn’t have spoken even if he could’ve.  But Matt said what he was thinking.

            “I didn’t think you KNEW any sad songs.”

            “Of course I know some sad songs,” Lance said, putting down the mandolin.  “Everyone knows some sad songs.”

            Someone touched Lance’s shoulder from behind.  He turned around.

            “Hey,” she said, handing him something.  She looked like she’d been crying.  “I’m sorry I took this from you.”

            She didn’t look human, at least not all the way.  She looked like a mer.

            Lance accepted the object.

            “What?  The mean potion?  How’d you get this?”

            “I said I was sorry, okay?” the girl shook her head.  “Just take it.”

            “Why did you steal it?” Matt eyed her.

            “Why did you give it back?” Lance said.

            The mer girl glared at them.

            “Don’t expect me to do it again.  The giving-it-back part.”  Then she sighed.  “No one sings like that anymore.  The water’s too cold.”

            They all exchanged a glance.

            “What?”

            “There’s a great sadness in the water.  There’s not much magic anymore.”

            “You’re still… not making much sense,” Matt said.

            The girl scoffed.

            “I didn’t think you’d understand.  You’re not one of us.”

            She turned to leave.

            “Hey!  Wait!” Lance said.  “Please tell us what’s bothering you, maybe we can help.”

            Lotor groaned inwardly.

            “You’re a human,” said the girl.  “You can’t fix the sea.”

            “Well my FRIENDS here aren’t human,” Lance said.  Lotor tensed.  “Maybe THEY can do something.”

            “It’s fine,” the girl started to lose some of her softness.  “I’m doing fine on the surface.”

            “What,” Matt said.  “By stealing stuff?”

            “I gave you back your thing, stop complaining.”

            “What’s even wrong with the ocean?” Lance said.

            “I told you already,” said the girl.  “It’s getting too cold to live in.  But I’m human enough to live on the surface, and I’m not going back.”

            Lotor startled when Pidge became human again.

            “Well, if you’re not gonna let us help YOU, maybe you can help US,” she said.  “Magical disguises, you know of anything?”

            “Hmm,” the girl said.  She smirked a little bit.  “I’ve got a friend who has something.  But it’s not exactly for SALE.”

            “Can we, like… just borrow it for a bit then?” Lance asked.

            The mer girl chuckled.

            “You’d have to ask HER.  She’s gonna want a favor, at least.”

            “What kind of favor?”

            “She’s probably gonna want her eye.”


End file.
